For more than two decades Bill Daley has been the Democratic Party’s businessman-in-chief. He’s also helped two presidents run the country as chief of staff.

Now he wants to run for governor of Illinois in order to bring order out of chaos and repair our sinking ship of state.

Daley has moved effortlessly from public to private sectors throughout his career as a banker/politician. He grew up around power as a son of the late Mayor Richard J. Daley, the legendary “Boss” of Chicago. His brother is former mayor Richard M. Daley. He succeeded current Mayor Rahm Emanuel as President Barack Obama’s chief of staff, a job he held from 2011 to 2012.

In the 1990s, Bill Daley was President Bill Clinton’s NAFTA czar in 1993, then secretary of commerce from 1997 to 2000. He then was an executive with JP Morgan Chase Bank.

Despite all that leadership experience, Daley has never sought elective office until now. Tuesday, Daley released a video — that’s how the pols do it these days — announcing he had formed an exploratory committee to run for governor.

“We’re in serious trouble. Here in Illinois, we have second highest unemployment in the country. And the news from Springfield always seems to be bad,” Daley said.

People have no faith that their leaders in Springfield will do anything to solve problems like the worsening pension debt, now nearly $100 billion, he said.

“We expect Springfield to fail. We’ve gotten used to it. I’m speaking to you today to sound an alarm. We can no longer stand idly by while our pension debt bankrupts our schools and robs our children of a better future. From the stinging injustice of inequality to the painful toll of unemployment, the people of Illinois are paying a perilous price for political failure. We need solutions. We need action. We need leadership that gets things done. And people can’t wait.”

I know this about Daley — he is a good salesman who comes to a meeting prepared. I interviewed him at the White House in 1993 when he was Clinton’s NAFTA czar, working in the halls of Congress to pass the free trade pact among the U.S., Mexico and Canada.

It was a tough sell among Daley’s fellow Democrats, but Republicans such as our own former U.S. Rep. Don Manzullo were fully on board.

Daley had done his homework before our interview. He was thorough and sincere in discussing the specifics of Rockford’s economy and how he believed companies would benefit from the NAFTA pact during our half-hour talk. He got the bill through Congress, too.

Page 2 of 2 - Can Daley defeat Gov. Pat Quinn in a 2014 Democratic primary? He can if people believe he will be a strong leader able to forge compromises between Senate President John Cullerton and House Speaker Mike Madigan, something Quinn hasn’t been able to do on the key issue, pension reform.

“I’ve met him a couple of times. He’s certainly distinguished,” said Charles Laskonis, chairman of the Winnebago County Democratic Central Committee.

“I was a little surprised by his decision. I thought he wasn’t going to run,” Laskonis said. “Quinn says he’s running again. As the sitting governor he’d be hard to beat, but I’m sure Daley will reach out to Democrats throughout the state.”

Laskonis said he expects the local Democratic Party to be neutral in the primary.

Bill Crowley, the Winnebago County auditor and longtime friend and supporter of Quinn, said Daley is right about Springfield being dysfunctional, but “whether Daley has the answer is another question. I don’t know what he thinks he’s bringing to the table that would be different than (it is) right now. He’s going to have to make that case.”

With Attorney General Lisa Madigan also considering a run for governor in the Democratic primary, and a gaggle of Republicans lining up to do so, Crowley says this about the 2014 governor’s race: “Election? It’s going to be more like a cavalry charge.”